John Leonardis has been with Rutgers head coach Scott Goodale since his first day “On the Banks” and has played a vital role in the program’s rise to national prominence over the past 11 years. With the help of Leonardis, the Scarlet Knights have produced eight All-Americans in the past five seasons, and since 2009, have earned two top-10 finishes and seven top-25 finishes in the USA Today/ NWCA Division I Coaches Poll.
No stranger to the recruiting trail, Leonardis has had a direct impact on RU’s success hauling in the best talent in the country. Rutgers inked the No. 12 recruiting class – according to Intermat – in the country in 2018. The class is headlined by Billy Janzer (No. 2, 182 lbs), Nicolas Aguilar (No. 4, 120 lbs) and Jake Benner (No. 16, 138 lbs), who are all rated within the Top 20 of their respective weight classes.
During Leonardis’ tenure, RU has also had three conference champions, 64 NCAA Championship bids, 23 Big Ten Conference Championship placewinners and 42 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships placewinners. The 2017-18 season was arguably the most notable in program history, as Rutgers produced its best team finish at the 2018 NCAA Championships in Cleveland. Six Scarlet Knights combined for 19 victories and 42.5 team points en route to an 11th-place result at nationals, which included the program's first national finalist in Nick Suriano, as well as a sixth-place finisher in Scott DelVecchio.
Rutgers has had All-Americans in each of the last five seasons, as Anthony Ashnault (141) became the first three time All-American in program history when he finished sixth at the 2017 national championships in St. Louis. Ken Theobold also appeared on the podium at 149 pounds in 2017, giving the program back-to-back seasons with two or more All-Americans for the first time ever.
In 2014, the program earned its first All-American since 2002, as 157-pounder Anthony Perrotti finished eighth at NCAAs. Perrotti closed his career on the national podium at 165 pounds in 2016 in front of a local crowd at MSG, becoming the third two-time All-American in RU history.
With Leonardis and Goodale at the helm, RU notched six top-25 and two top-10 finishes since 2009.
The Scarlet Knights finished the 2016-17 dual campaign with a 12-5 record, which included an undefeated home slate (6-0) and 6-3 mark in Big Ten Conference action. The six conference wins were the most since Rutgers joined the league in 2014, while RU concluded its dual season ranked within the top-25 for the sixth time since Leonardis joined the program.
Rutgers also hosted the historic “Battle at the Birthplace” this past season, in which it defeated rival Princeton, 19-16, in front of 16,178 fans at High Point Solutions Stadium on Nov. 19, 2016. The event drew the second-highest crowd in NCAA dual history.
The 2015-16 season was undeniably the most successful in Rutgers wrestling history. The Scarlet Knights sent all 10 weight classes to the NCAA Championships for the first time and finished 15th in the nation. Ashnault won the Big Ten title at 141 pounds to become Rutgers’ first ever Big Ten champ, as the squad wrestled to a fifth-place finish at the 2016 Big Ten Championships.
RU (16-5) closed the dual season ranked No. 10 in the final USA Today/ NWCA Coaches Poll, defeating seven ranked opponents and three in the top-10, culminating with an 18-15 win over No. 7 Lehigh in the NWCA National Duals Championship Series.
Rutgers’ national prominence soared to new heights in 2014-15 in its first season in the Big Ten Conference. The Scarlet Knights tallied a new single-season attendance mark and posted the sixth-best attendance total (18,877) and average (2,697) in the nation, according to a report released Roby Publishing.
RU ended its inaugural Big Ten Conference campaign No. 21 in the nation in the USA Today/NWCA Division I Coaches Poll after a 14-7 campaign that featured a pair of ranked wins and five NCAA Championships selections.
The Scarlet Knights wrapped up the 2012-13 season at No. 25 in the USA Today/ NWCA Coaches Poll after recording a 16-4 mark and sending seven wrestlers to the 2013 NCAA Wrestling Championships.
In 2011-12, Rutgers played host to one of four regional sites of the 2012 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, continuing to boost the Scarlet Knight grapplers’ national prominence.
RU ranked ninth in the final USA Today/ NWCA Coaches Poll in 2010-11 after posting an all-time best 21-2 record. Nine Scarlet Knights placed at the EIWA Championships, including Scott Winston who took home the 165-pound title to become the first RU wrestler to capture an EIWA championship since Tom Tanis in 2001. RU qualified eight individuals for the NCAA Championships, which tied a school record.
In 2009-10, Leonardis helped Rutgers to a No. 22 finish in the final USA Today/ NWCA Division I Team Coaches Poll after posting a 19-5-1 record. Seven Scarlet Knights earned NCAA bids, which at the time was the most since 1960. The No. 22 ranking was the highest in school history at that point. The Scarlet Knights put together a 15-match unbeaten streak from early December to late February which was the longest streak in school history.
Leonardis was a three year varsity wrestling letterwinner at Lehigh before graduating in 1997. He was an EIWA Champion in 1996 in the 190-pound weight class. The Sea Girt, N.J., native played football and wrestled for Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J. His senior year he was a captain for both wrestling and football, leading each program to a State Championship.
During his wrestling career, Leonardis was a four-time National Prep placewinner and champion and an Amateur Wrestling News All-American. On the coaching front, Leonardis has extensive experience. For six years (2000-06), he compiled a .720 winning percentage as the head coach at Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J. Leonardis-coached teams placed in the top-five of the National Prep Championships five times. He coached 32 National Prep Place winners and four Junior National All-Americans.
The nine-year assistant coach also worked as the New Jersey Wrestling Federation Coach from 1997-2007, receiving Coach of the Year honors three times from the Trenton Times.
